1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to grout and mortar application tools and more particularly pertains to a new grout and mortar bottle for more convenient handling and application of grout and mortar.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of grout and mortar application tools is known in the prior art. More specifically, grout and mortar application tools heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art, which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,250, which teaches a squeezable dispensing bottle for dispensing flowable material from a collapsible bladder held within a flexible container. U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,311 teaches a tool for applying viscous, creamy or pasty materials with an inner collapsible envelope and an outer deformable envelope capable of regaining its original shape through the agency of a check valve to allow the dispensed volume of material to be replaced by air between the inner and outer envelope. U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,920 teaches an applicator for dispensing viscous material with an inner collapsible container and an outer flexible container that also includes a means to invert the inner container upon itself about its midsection to allow for a greater portion of the inner container""s contents to be used. U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,213 teaches another squeezable dispenser using an collapsible container and an outer flexible container which includes an improved pump to dispense the viscous material and to replace its volume with air between the inner and outer containers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,606 teaches a dispenser for liquid grout and is not suitable for viscous, creamy or pasty materials.
Also known in the art is the use of a pastry bag for applying a flowable material such as cake frosting, sugar paste or grout. In addition, tubes of viscous material are used with a caulk gun or cookie press apparatus are also generally known.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents and prior art do not disclose a new grout and mortar bottle. The prior art focuses on methods of dispensing a viscous material in a manner that requires a separation of the material from the air. This requirement has necessitated the use of collapsible bladders, envelopes, or piston tubes. The flexible bottle exterior is generally used to contain the collapsible bladder and a volume of air that transmits the force exerted on the flexible exterior via air pressure to the collapsible bladder thus forcing the viscous material out of the application nozzle. The inventive device does not employ any inner bladder container and has additional advantages over the prior art including the ability to quickly and conveniently add any additional portion of viscous material, an intuitive method of handling the application tool, a replaceable dispensing orifice that allows for a variety of application nozzles, a container design that would allow the user to mix the viscous material within the container and a sensible simple design that would be durable and easy to maintain.
In these respects, the grout and mortar bottle according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of a more convenient handling and application of grout and mortar.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of grout and mortar application tools now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new grout and mortar bottle construction wherein the same can be utilized for more convenient handling and application of grout and mortar.
The general ease of grout and mortar application of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new grout and mortar bottle apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the grout and mortar application tools mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new grout and mortar bottle which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art grout and mortar application tools, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a flexible container designed to hold a quantity of viscous material a rigid handle incorporated into the neck end with a coupling means that is capable of accepting a variety of application nozzles. The container is capped on the end opposite the applicator nozzle with an access cap containing a check valve for allowing the passage of air into but not out of the container for replacing the volume of dispensed material with air and allowing the flexible portion of the container to return to its original shape.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for a more convenient handling and application of grout and mortar of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new grout and mortar bottle apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the grout and mortar application tools mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new grout and mortar bottle which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art grout and mortar application tools, either alone or in any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new grout and mortar bottle, which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new grout and mortar bottle, which is of a durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new grout and mortar bottle which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such grout and mortar bottle economically available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new grout and mortar bottle, which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new grout and mortar bottle for more convenient handling and application of grout and mortar.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new grout and mortar bottle, which includes an intuitively obvious method of operation.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new grout and mortar bottle that offers versatility of use by including a connector for a variety of applicator tools.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new grout and mortar bottle that may be easily carried in a manner that would make the device ready to use.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty, which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.